eBay bolsters secondhand clothing operations with Twice acquisition

E-commerce giant eBay has acquired a second-hand clothing store Twice for an undisclosed amount. The service launched in 2012, offering a way for users to sell unwanted clothes to people for a cheaper price.

Twice will be merged into the eBay Valet program, which offers a way for sellers to ship unwanted clothes, electronics and other products to eBay for resell. Instead of shipping directly to the buyer, eBay sorts the product, takes photos and starts the bidding—customers receive 60 to 80 per cent of the money.

It is one of eBay’s new programs intended to change the way used items are sold. Instead of having buyer's purchasing items with false information, eBay will be able to identify any marks, signs of wear or issues with the product before the consumer places a bid.

Twice will be sending all of its leadership team over to eBay Valet, while the site will remain up until June 30. After that, no orders or returns will be offered to customers. It is offering 30 per cent off its products to push out the items before shutting down.

eBay Valet started last year with the help of fashion blogger Garance Doré. The goal of creating a new storefront for customers that want to buy used items for a cheaper price, rather than paying the retail price for a product.

It is one of the many new services eBay is pushing, as its original storefront becomes too confusing and unreliable.